Audience Awareness Article

Russell C. Long, author of "Writer-Audience Relationships: Analysis or Invention?", discusses the preconceived notions writers have of their audiences. He feels that the reader plays a very active role in this two way situation and when writing, the writer needs to be aware of the readers activity. He characterizes the writing as different structures being used like either a rhetoric or poetic stance. There can either be two ways of utilizing the readers while the writers are writing, either acknowledging them or not. Through proper rhetoric this can have a healthy balance. One specific thing to keep in mind is not to wonder who the audience is but rather who do I, as a writer, want my audience to be.